Combination sofa and bed



May 27, 1952 Filed NOV. 2, 1949 M. C. JENKINS COMBINATION SOFA AND BED 3 Sheets-Sheet l 1 N VENTOR ATTORNEYS wk, wyw

May 27, 1952 Filed Nov. 2, 1949 M. c. JENKINS 2,597,995

COMBINATION SOFA AND BED 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR W 422 Q QQMQ ATTORNEY May 27, 1952 M. c. JENKINS COMBINATION SOFA AND BED 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 m \W N \w Kim Y Filed NOV. 2, 1949 INVEIVTOR AQRNEY Patented May 27, 1952 UNIT ED STATES PATENT orries 2,597,995 COMBINATION som Annen Merl G. Jenkins, Lakeland, Fla., as 'sifg njor =to -Lo'dwick 'Aircraftrlndustries, Iii-0., "L211' eli't l'l'd.

Fla., a. corporation of Florida Application'Nbvmber 2, 1949,:seriarNo; 125,059

This invention relates to double purpose furniture,'and' more particularly to a combination sectional bed adapted to be folded "into position for daytime use as a chair or sofa, and constitutes'an improvement over the sofa bed or chair-beddescribed and claimed in my copending application Serial NO.'88,470.

The general object of the invention is to provide a sofa-bed or chair-bed comprising, generally, three sections each consisting of a frame workand upholstered cushion, so connected by hinges and linkages that two of thesections may be folded together, back to back, and adjusted to a generally vertical, somewhat inclined position adjacent one of the edges of the third section thereby constitutinga sofa or chair. In the construction of the earlier filed application, the

'morerearwardly of the two sections comprising the back rest portion is the shorter of the two, by a slight amount, and the linkage connecting this section with the base portion of the apparatus necessarily projected above the level of the seat portion when the device is adjusted in sofaor chair position for daytime use. According to the present invention, the more rearwardsection of the two sections comprising the back rest portion is the longer of the two, by a considerable amount, and is adapted to project downwardly below the top of the seat portion and rearwardly thereof, whereby the operating linkage connected between the base of the deviceand the aforesaid back rest portion may be disposed entirely laterany of the seat'portion. An object of theinvfention is the provision of an improved linkage havingthis advantage.

'A further'o'bject isthe provision of an-improved linkage between the base, back restportion and'seat portion of the device whereby, when the back rest portion is moved forwardly and'into horizontal'position to form the forward part of a bed, the seat portion is not only tilted from a slightly inclined position to ahorizontal position, butismoved translationally, first rearwardly to clear the path of the back rest portion andthen forwardly to closely abut the rearward edge of the backrest portion in horizontal alignment therewith, with the result that a close junction between the several sections may be effected without the-use of any specially shaped cushions and without any interference between the respective portions as the device is being adjusted into bed position.

A'further object is the provision ofa device of theeharacter described, in which the movements of the 'respective'portion's. are such that when in 7 Claims. (0165445) bedposition, theseat portion-is not'onlyinclose abutment withthe back rest portion which has been horizontallydisposed, but atthe same' time projects rearwardly of th base of thedev'ice -to an extent at least approximately equal to the rearward projection of "-the back -re'st portion when the'device is in sofa or chair-position. As;

a result of this arrangement, the 'sofaor' chair maybe arranged with the "upper edge of its-back substantially against a room wall, and yet-may be adjusted into bed position with the had of the bed substantially in engagement with the,

room wall, ""without the necessity T of shifting the baseof the device relative to the wall.

' Other and further objects, features'and-advam tages will be apparent from the description which the position shown in Figure 4;

Figure 6is'a horizontal section online' B -'6 of Figure 3; and

Figure 7is a detailed view of the shortlink to which the counterbalancing springis attached.

In order to facilitate a an understanding of the invention, reference is made to-the embodiment thereof shown in the accompanying drawings; and detaileddescriptivelanguage is employed. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the invention is thereby intended and that various changes and alterations are contemplated such as would ordinarily occur to one skilled in :the'art to which the invention relates. -'lhe-'device comprises generally a base portion 10, seat portion II and back rest portion. I2, the latter comprising, preferably, two sections 1 3 and I4 hingedlyconnected so as to be extensible in abutment and horizontal alignment as illustrated in Figure 4. The'details of the connection between the sections Band [4, and the operation oflegs I5, however, form no part of the present invention and will not be further described.

The base portion 10- comprises a framework 1 6, generally rectangular in plan, preferably of wood and-adapted to restupon a floor or other'i-sup portin surface, --'and a bracket 'l I di' 'to either lateral rail of the framework It and projecting some distance above the upper edge thereof. Preferably, the bracket I1 is provided with a downwardly inclined extension l8 carrying the pivot for one of the members of the linkages to be described. Preferably, the back rest section I3 is also provided, on either side, with a bracket IQ of metal or other suitably rigid material, for connection of the said linkage.

A link 20 is pivoted to the bracket IT as at 2| and to the bracket 19 as at 22. A lever 23 is pivoted to the bracket H as at 24 and to the bracket H! as at 25. The lever 23 is formed with offsets 26 and 21 to provide the necessary clearance for other members of the linkage during adjustment of the device.

A second lever 28 is pivoted to the bracket [1 as at 29 (Figure 2) and is formed with a longitudinal slot 30. The lever 23 is provided with an extension 3| which projects beyond the pivot point 24 and carries a laterally projecting pin 32 for engagement in the slot 30 of the lever 28.

The seat portion II is connected with the extension it of bracket I! by means of a link 33 pivoted to the extension H! as at 34 and pivoted as at 36 to a bracket 35 extending downwardly from the seat portion H. The free end of the lever 28 is also connected to the pivot 36 by means of a link 31, the pivotal connection between the link 31 and the lever 28 being designated at 38.

A short link 39, best seen in Figure l, is also pivoted at 38 and provides a connection for one end of a tension spring 40 the other end of which is secured to the base as at ii. The link 33 carries an inwardly extending lug 42 for engagement with the lower edge of lever 28 in order to apply the force of the spring 40 thereto, in the proper direction for counterbalancing the weight of the sections l3 and 14 in a near forward position.

As will be seen, the rearward ends of the side rails of the base framework l6 are cut away as at 43 to permit the section 13 of the back rest portion to project downwardly below the seat portion ll,.which in turn permits the back rest portion to assume an inclined position as illustrated in Figure l, promoting the comfort of the user. I 'he side rails of the base framework are likewise inclined downwardly and rearwardly throughout their length permitting seat portion H to assume a slight inclination, for the same purpose. When in chair or sofa position, the section M of the back rest abuts the upper rearward edge of the seat portion ll. 'Each of the sections ll, l3 and I4 is, of course, upholstered in a suitable manner for its intended use.

From the foregoing description the operation of the device will be readily understood. When it is desired to unfold the sofa or chair to bed position, the lower end of the section l4 1s grasped and pulled forwardly bringing with it the section l3 which pivots simultaneously about the pivot points 2i and 24, resulting in both a swinging and a tilting movement of the section l3. Intermediate positions of the latter are seen in Figures 2 and 3, and its final position in Figure l. During the aforesaid movement, the lever 28 is caused 'to swing about the pivot 29, due to the engagement between pin 32 and slot 30, and this movement causes pivot point 36 to move upwardly and rearwardly, bringing the seat portion I2 mto horizontal position and moving it rearwardly out of the way of the forwardly and downwardly moving sections l3 and M of the back rest l2. when the device has been adjusted into the position shown in Figure 3, it will be noted that lever 28 and link 31 are substantially in alignment, bringing about the rearwardmost position of the seat portion II and permitting sections I3 and [A to move downwardly into horizontal position without interference. As seen in Figure 4, during the final downward travel of sections [3 and I4, lever 28 is forced tomake a further counterclockwise movement with the result that the seat portion H is moved forwardly into close abutment with the rearward edge of section l3. When fully adjusted to its bed position, as seen in Figure 4, the rearward edge of the seat portion H is only a short distance forward of its rearmost position, hence, the device may be adjusted from sofa or chair position to bed position, or vice versa, without moving the base Ill and while permitting the back rest portion, or the rearward edge of the seat portion, as the case may be, to closely approach the room wall.

As illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 4, the

seat portion may be swung upwardly about the pivots 36 to permit access to the storage space provided within the framework [6 of the base l0. course, the base must be positioned slightly fur-' ther from the room wall than is otherwise the case.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In adjustable furniture of the type including a base portion and seat and back-rest portions operatively connected to said base portion and adapted to be adjusted into horizontal alignment to form a bed, a linkage connecting said base, seat and back-rest portions and comprising a link and a lever pivoted at separate locations on said base portion and on said back-rest por: tion, said lever extending beyond the point of pivoting thereof on said base portion, a second lever pivoted on said base portion, means slidably connecting said second lever and said extension, a second link connecting the free end of said second lever to said seat portion, and a third link pivoted on said base portion and on said seat portion.

2. In adjustable furniture of the type including a base portion and seat and back-rest portions operatively connected to said base portion and adapted to be adjusted into horizontal alignment to form a bed, a linkage connecting said base, seat and back-rest portions and comprising means connecting said back-rest portion to said base portion for forward swinging movement of the former relative to the latter and tilting of the former to a horizontal position, and means operatively connected to said first means for tilting said seat portion into horizontal position and moving the same translationally, first rearwardly to clear the path of said baok-restfportion, then forwardly to abut said back-rest portion in horizontal alignment therewith. t

3. The linkage defined in claim 2, said last means including a member pivotally connecting said base portion and said seat portion, a member pivoted on said base portion and having an operative connection with said first means, and a link connecting said last member and said seat portion.

4. The linkage defined in claim 3, said operative connection being of the lost-motion type. a

5. The linkage defined in claim 4, saidopera tive connection being of the pin-,and-slot type";. 3

In order to perform this movement, of"

6. The linkage defined in claim 1, including counter-balancing spring means acting between said base portion and said third lever.

'7. The linkage defined in claim 2, said base portion including a framework adapted to rest 5 upon a supporting surface and to support said seat portion, and a bracket secured to said framework and extending upwardly of the upper edge thereof, said linkage being pivoted to said bracket at spaced points above the upper edge of 10 said framework.

MERL C. JENKINS.

6 REFERENCES CITED file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Coopersmith July 11, 1905 Foyer Nov. 26, 1918 Duvall -0. Sept. 16, 1930 Duvall Sept. 29, 1931 Martin Dec. 7, 1943 

